


throw away your mask.

by theholylight



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drabble, Gen, M/M, NO ROYAL SPOILERS, Phantom Thief!Kawakami, as in her confidant is still temperance but her party member arcana is charity, charity represents friendship empathy and compassion which is certainly how i see kawakami, kawakamis arcana is the charity one to compliment kasumis faith one, maruki and kasumi are just mentioned briefly, set sometime in the summer before futaba joins, slight references to ren hanging out with goro but thats about it, the shuake is more implied as are all other pairings, think aigis who is of the chariot arcana but the aeon social link, wanted a drabble where kawakami helps ren out with his problems regarding his crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 07:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21370174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theholylight/pseuds/theholylight
Summary: her only intent that evening was to get a cup of the coffee she's come to prefer, but she couldn't bear to see him looking so dejected, all the same.(or, kawakami advices ren to be honest about his feelings in regards to a certain detective)
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Amamiya Ren & Kawakami Sadayo, Amamiya Ren/Akechi Goro, Kawakami Sadayo & Kurusu Akira
Kudos: 30





	throw away your mask.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is for my AU where Kawakami is also a Persona-user and a member of the Phantom Thieves, that I was thinking about before Royal even got released so no spoilers. If anything, I was struggling with her Arcana until I read up about Kasumi's and found Charity, which I believe fits Kawakami well.
> 
> I also wanted a fic with older Persona-users and party members and Kawakami just being done with all these teenage crushes and worries so she just wants to reach out and help their dear leader out. Might do another fic later that explores her Persona and the Metaverse more but for now it's just this.
> 
> Note: Kawakami & Ren in this AU are purely platonic friends, slightly closer than in canon cause of my AU. Assume that Kawakami's confidant is close to being maxed out but not quite.

"Ren-kun?" 

Kawakami hummed, slowly closing the door behind herself as Leblanc's bell jingled, carefully walking over to the dejected-looking teen, a somewhat amused but worried Sojiro Sakura in the background drying some glasses. The teacher gave him a look that she would handle it and, as she made herself comfortable in a seat beside her student, the coffee shop owner nodded and walked out, closing the door once more as he did with the silent implication that locking up would be left to Ren, which made her wonder... but for now, there were more pressing issues.

"Would you like to tell me what's got you so down?" she asked gently. Ren just sighed, adjusting his glasses as he turned to face the older woman. He opened his mouth before closing it once more, getting up to walk behind the counter, clearly intent on fixing her the usual order. "Oh, you don't have to, it can wait until tomor-..."

"It's about Akechi." said teen was clearly on the mind of the leader of the Phantom Thieves as he diligently began preparing the cup, Kawakami deciding to keep quiet and let him speak for now. So it was love troubles after all, oh the good old teenage years... excluding the other worldly stuff she found out about only recently, but she would digress later. She barely blinked as he went on to explain how they've hanged out so much already and it was comfortable and fun and... causing him to feel all sorts of emotions that he didn't think he should be feeling. "After all, he is on our case, isn't he? Pretty sure he told me so himself and yet..." 

"The hearts wants what it wants, Ren-kun." Kawakami replied gently. "Besides, you could have found a way worse person to have a crush on, so don't worry. I was worried that it was something far more dangerous, but you did promise that you would tell me if it concerned... the Metaverse, did you say? ... so I was curious about what it was actually about. Did you tell anyone else about this?" 

Ren shook his head. "No, I don't think the others would get it... Ryuji would be rightfully angry, I think. He's been expressing his dislike of Ake- ... Goro, from the get go..."

"Well, you are certainly feeling quite comfortable with him if you are calling him like that without any honorifics, he is your Senpai after all, right?" the teacher was enjoying how the teen blushed when she teased him about the detective. Young love indeed, it had to be that if it was eating him up this much. "Regardless, I don't believe everyone would be angry with you ... you can't control who you love. Or is this about how Sakamoto-kun teased you about Yoshizawa-san? I did get the feeling that she liked you... or was at least comfortable around you. I'm glad that you are there for her, on that note, I know it can't be easier for her either from all the stuff I hear her classmates talking about..." Kawakami sighed, before returning back to the topic at hand. "Are you planning to tell Akechi-kun how you feel?"

"What? No... I just... I don't think he does..."

"You won't know till you try." Kawakami supplied. "Isn't that what you told me during my Awakening, I believe your cat Morgana called it that? That I should be honest with myself, throw my mask away and stop hiding how I truly felt about his parents trying to make me feel guilty for something I couldn't have prevented, which I realize now. Well, I'm telling you to do the same. After all, as fearless and confident as Joker is, he is still _you_. Certainly, one of the many faces you have - like most of us do - but still you. I know you can do it, Ren-kun. After all, you are my student, aren't you?" Kawakami grinned at him. Seeing his shoulders relax and the grin she got in return made the woman happy, too. The last thing she would want is for any of her students to be worrying and was glad that he found that he could trust her enough to talk about this. "If I can talk to Maruki-sensei as calmly as I do, you can do the same with Akechi-kun." 

"Of course... Agape. Leave it to me." 

And there it was, the familiar smirk of Joker they've all grown to know and appreciate in tough times. Now it was just a sign of his grow, leaving a satisfied Kawakami to lean back on her bar stool for a bit as he handed her that cup of coffee...

**Author's Note:**

> So in line with the Charity Arcana and it's meanings, Kawakami's codename is Agape, meaning unconditional love. It's how I feel she would think about her students and the other Phantom Thieves, a family of mischievous misfits that she wouldn't trade for the world (she may or may not have a crush on Maruki but would never put that above the Phantom Thieves).
> 
> I feel like I made her maybe a bit too poetic in the end but considering what she teaches, I feel like it's fitting, in a way.
> 
> As for her Persona (both initial and Ultimate), I haven't really thought about it in too many details yet... though I think her Ultimate one will be Seraph, specializing in Fire (and/or Debuff), Gun and Healing skills. Her initial one will probably be a more personalized Angel but I will think about it further if I decide to continue this AU. 
> 
> Curious to see how everyone feels about this, I love the idea so here it is :D


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